Acquisition of Spanish Subjunctive Mood by Adult Heritage Speakers and Second Language Learners: Group, Between-Speaker, and Within-Speaker Effects

Aims/Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: This study explored Spanish heritage speakers’ (HSs’) and second language learners’ (L2Ls’) mood production and selection. It explored whether proficiency, asymmetries between production and receptive knowledge, and lexical frequency influence HSs and L2Ls to the same degree in their command of mood. Design/Methodology/Approach: Thirty-four adult HSs and 26 L2Ls completed production and selection tasks as well as a proficiency measure in Spanish. Data and Analysis: All responses were submitted to a binomial logistic regression evaluating mood use as a function of expected mood, group, proficiency, verbal lexical frequency, and task. Individual analyses complement statistical findings. Findings and Conclusions: HSs and L2Ls used the indicative more consistently than the subjunctive. The two groups showed similar production tendencies, but L2Ls selected the expected moods more consistently than HSs. Proficiency modulated individual differences in production and selection. Lexical frequency of the subordinate verb did not modulate subjunctive production or selection. Originality: This paper is among the first to evaluate relationships between group-level, between-speaker, and within-speaker differences in both HSs and L2Ls side-by-side. Significance/Implications: This study demonstrates the importance of evaluating between-speaker and within-speaker effects in bilingual morphosyntax. Findings argue for a dissociation between productive and receptive command. It appears that L2Ls show more asymmetrical knowledge of mood contrasts than HSs when a metalinguistic task is involved.